Just a Replacement
by Reader121
Summary: "What are you doing?" Tails asked as the midnight hedgehog sat down in front Tails, despite the pouring rain. "Isn't this what I'm supposed to do to try and comfort you?" Shadow asked. "...comfort me?" A confused Tails asked. "Yeah... you're upset." "...but.. why do you of all people even care?"
1. Chapter 1

_Love isn't for the people who are with you when you are your strongest, it's for the people who are there to pick you up when you are your weakest._

The tears flowed freely from the kitsune's eyes. His wet, matted down orange fur was a sharp contrast to the brown trees and green grass. The only sound that filled his ears was the rain. It was so cold...

He shouldn't be out here... He could freeze. Yet... he couldn't go back. Not after... that.

At the very idea bile seemed to churn from his stomach once again. _I don't hate her..._ Tails scolded himself pulling his legs closer in as she shivered. _After all, it's not her fault._ He didn't even try to suppress the sobs. Who would hear him here in the woods? Who would even care?

 _She was just faster than me._

The irony of the statement would've made Tails chuckle had he not been so heartbroken.

 _He_ _should've been happy for his older brother._ Tails told himself. _**Definitely not jealous.**_ Yet happiness seemed impossible for the fox when the **only** thing he could think about was seeing them.

And how his heart seemed to break into a million pieces when he saw them. Try as he might, he just couldn't forget it. Couldn't forget them. Together. His stomach felt sick at the very mention of the memory.

* * *

A groggy Tails walked out of his workshop and into the house him and Sonic shared. It was just him for now. Sonic had run off somewhere for the night. It must've been close to two in the morning, Tails judged from the pitch black night sky visible out the window. The happy Tails mindlessly hummed a tune as he walked to the bathroom, as that was the only reason the fox has left the workshop at such an ungodly hour. Working with his tools always left him in such a good mood.

As the kitsune closed the bathroom door behind him he heard the front door open.

 _Looks like Sonic's back,_ Tails told himself. Before he could call out and say hi to the blue hedgehog, Tails heard what sounded like... g _iggling?_

Almost like a girl. As soon as he recognized who it was he nearly groaned. _Amy._

 _Why was she here, at two in the morning of all times?_

Before Tails could open the bathroom door to confront the punk intruder he heard another sound. Something or someone slammed into a wall and Tails thought that maybe he was mistaken about Amy. Maybe it was actually some type of criminal- until he heard Amy...

 _...Moan?_

No- that wasn't Amy. The sound was too deep. More giggling and movement. _What the heck was going on?_ A confused Tails opened the door a slight amount, just enough to peer through the crack in the door. And immediately regretted his decision. Eyes widening in shock at the scene he stumbled upon.

 _His_ best friend, _his_ older brother, _his_ Sonic, held the pink hedgehog against the wall next to the bedroom door, pinning Amy to the wall as the two kissed.

And, as a flustered Tails judged by watching Amy's roaming hands on the cobalt hedgehog, did other... _things_ besides kissing.

 _Amy Rose._ The same pink hedgehog that time after time Sonic had rejected and acted disgusted by her advances. A disgusting taste rose into Tails' throat. Yet he couldn't move, his feet seemingly stuck to the floor on which he stood, his hand unable to shut the door and close his eyes to what the two hedgehogs were doing in the middle of his living room. All he could do was watch. The more he watched the more his chest seemed to cave in on itself.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to cry.

He wanted to do something...

Sonic's gaze drifted from Amy to the bathroom door where his eyes locked with Tails' own. There was just something in Sonic's eyes that Tails couldn't place. Next Sonic opened his mouth for some maybe to call out to Tails or something, _anything_ at all. But before he could do anything Amy pulled him into another deep kiss.

 _That was enough._ Tails told himself as he regained the ability to move and loudly slammed the door shut and locked it tight.

He couldn't think straight, he couldn't see straight. The sickened Tails nearly collapsed on the floor of the bathroom. He felt like a mixing pot of emotions. He felt angry. Jealous. Betrayed. Hurt.

 _Why though?_

It wasn't like he was surprised by the two of them _finally_ getting together. It had long since been obvious there was something in between them. _Then_ w _hy was he so upset?_

He didn't know.

 _Or rather... he did know. He just preferred not to think about it._ He knew every time he looked at them. No- not _them_. _Him._

The fox's childhood crush of the hero never truly went away. Not after all these years of being called Sonic's little brother or bro. Even when Sonic treated Tails like a kid. Tails had hoped it would go away. But it didn't.

In fact, it seemed to just go stronger. So somewhere along Tails decided to just suppress it all. Everything. Except for his hope that maybe, just maybe, one day, he wouldn't have to suppress it. That he could go ahead and tell his friend how he had loved him, _still did_ love him.

Yet Tails always knew that Sonic would never want him like that. He was the little brother to Sonic. And just that. He always knew that.

 _And yet Tails had always hoped he was wrong._

Tails slumped down against the bathroom door, falling to the floor. He blocked out the sounds from behind the door. He couldn't even recognize them anymore. The pounding at the door seemed a world away. He didn't want to hear them.

Wasn't it enough that every time he now closed his eyes all he could see was them, looking back at Tails, smirking before their lips met again?

 _Yet the fact that Sonic was with her right now rather than Tails only proved that Tails was right. That all Sonic saw him as was a little brother. As a kid._ _Not a lover._

As the tears rolled down his cheeks, Tails realized he had never been so upset about being right before in his entire life. And as the silent tears fell, Tails could hear Amy's loud piercing voice behind the door.

 _"Sonic, don't worry about him."_ The voice said, and Tails could hear the door creaking as Amy pinned Sonic against the locked bathroom door. _"Why don't we have some more fun?"_ There was a pause, a moment where Sonic said nothing in reply.

 _"Okay."_ Sonic's voice replied. There was a hint of nervousness to it, but then it was gone.

Forgotten. Just like the young fox behind the door.

There was another creak heard as the pressure on the door was released as the pair of Mobians got off of it.

The giggling was back next, and then Tails heard the crinkling of the living room sofa as the two fell on it. Tails knew he couldn't stay here. The kitsune's eyes trailed around the bathroom looking for an escape, before finding the window beside the toilet. Pushing himself up, Tails opened the window.

He paused in his uncertainty. The rainy night would be no shelter to him. But then he heard them again. And he knew there was no way he would stand to remain here any longer, even if it meant he would freeze.

Tails looked back out the window and fled.

Even though he could no longer hear them or see them. The only thing he could imagine was them together. Tails hated it. He hated them. He especially hated _her_.

It wasn't her fault though.

She may have been the one who stole Sonic's heart, yet Tails never could work up the courage to try and tell him. _But it wouldn't have changed anything,_ he reasoned. He began running straight ahead. _Would it have?_

 _Usually Sonic was the one to run away from problems. But this time it was different._ Tails ran through the night time rain and into the forest. Tails had no idea _where_ he was running to but he didn't care. As long as it was away from _them_.

The cold raindrops stung the kitsune's face masking the tears he shed as he ran. He didn't stop running until the fox collapsed from exhaustion in the dead of the woods. Too tired to stand, the wet fox pulled himself under the shelter of the closest tree.

* * *

Tails' shivered as the wind stung his cold fur, causing him to freeze even more. He should just head back to the house. Staying out here in the cold was unnecessary. He was just being unreasonable. He would freeze out here.

He couldn't bring himself to move though. Rather, he couldn't bring himself to care to move. More sobs sounded from the fox before he curled into a ball.

If he died out here, would he himself even care? Would anybody? He felt a rough leather of a gloved hand reach out and touch his shoulder as he cried. Of course Sonic would come eventual. Even though Tails wished he hadn't, Sonic would always go after his little brother to make sure he was alright. Just because he didn't see Tails in the way Tails wished he did, he still cared.

Though the thought of having to confront his brother now only made the bile in his stomach rise again. Quickly Tails dried his eyes on his equally soaked gloves and looked up to the hedgehog. Though it wasn't Sonic.

In fact, who he saw was the last person he expected.

 _"Shadow?"_ A confused Tails called out. He looked at the hand outstretched to him from Shadow, as if to confirm it was actually him Tails was looking at. Shadow- and indeed it was him, nodded in response. His facial expression differed from his usual bored expression... but in a way Tails couldn't quite place.

"What are you doing here?" Tails' asked he quit his sobbing, since Shadow was probably not too good with the whole comforting people thing.

"Should ask the same for you." He said, his hand still outstretched. Tails made no move to take it and Shadow only sighed and put it down. "I heard crying from my house okay? I was curious." Shadow admitted.

"Oh." A moment passed. Nobody said anything.

"I know I'm not too good with this social thing, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to answer my question now." He said, and Tails couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Tails offered no reply.

"Isn't it a little bit cold to be sitting out here in the rain?" He continued. Tails only curled into a tighter ball. "I take it you're not going to tell me what happened, are you." Nothing.

"I don't know if you're lost or something," Shadow sighed. "But I can take you back to the house faker and you share if you want."

Tails was glad Shadow didn't use Sonic's name. "...I'm good." Shadow only sighed again and sat down under the tree in front of Tails. "What are doing?" The confused kitsune asked.

"Isn't this what I'm supposed to do to try and comfort you?" Shadow replied, as if it were obvious.

"...comfort me?" A now even more confused Tails asked.

"Well yes, you're obviously upset." Shadow replied.

"But why do you care?"

"Who knows." Shadow laid down against his tree, shaking off some of the raindrops. "Though you may not believe me when I say I'm not completely heartless." In front of him, Tails shivered, obviously very cold.

Despite that Shadow was not about to ask the fox if he wanted to cuddle up to share heat. There were limits to Shadow's already small amount of kindness.

The two sat there in silence, the only sounds being the constant beating rain and the rustling of the treetops above them. Tails only sat in wonder as he stared at the newcomer. He would've at least expected Shadow to have asked what was wrong, even if the fox wouldn't have ever told him. _Why was he still here?_

 _Can't he just leave already?_

 _...do I really want him to?_

The last of his own questions took Tails completely by surprise. _Why does he care?_ Tails wasn't stupid. From previous experiences, the fox could tell the hedgehog wasn't like his ever so cheerful Sonic.

T _a_ ils nearly winced when he noticed he had called Sonic _his._ He ignored the pain rising once again in his chest. Shadow didn't seem like the type of person who would go out of his way to comfort someone. Tails shivered once again, leaving himself completely alone in his thoughts once again.

Shadow looked around at the trees, looking for something to occupy the boredom. The fox didn't seem to want to talk, and he didn't ask Tails what was wrong, as it was obvious the young kits had absolutely no intention of telling Shadow, who he obviously felt uncomfortable with.

Though Shadow couldn't blame the fox's discomfort with him. The only people who were ever comfortable with him anymore were Rouge and Omega... and Omega was a robot, so he wasn't _really_ actually capable of discomfort.

Plus, Shadow really _didn't_ know why he was still here. The caring thing was completely against his entire personality.

 _Well, not completely..._

Despite that Shadow was still curious as to why the fox was here in the middle of the woods crying. And shouldn't Tails' friend, Faker, be comforting him?

If Shadow hadn't been so used to masking his emotions, his face would have lit up in realization.

 _It had to have been something between Faker and him. B_ _ut what?_

The two of them were close, from what Shadow could tell. What could possibly tear apart a friendship like that?

Again the fox shivered changing Shadow's attention back to the fox and Shadow knew he must be freezing. Exactly how long had the fox been out here?

* * *

Shadow sighed. Almost a half hour had passed. Tails shivering became more and more frequent with each passing moment. Shadow himself didn't feel the cold. Yet he sort of had an unfair advantage with that, being the Ultimate Lifeform and all.

Still, the fox had yet to even make a whimper, never mind complain.

 _Tough kid._ Shadow said, though he knew that a life full of dangerous adventures with Sonic didn't really qualify him as a kid anymore. Plus the kitsune had probably handled much worse before.

Still, Shadow couldn't help but worry a little tiny bit. He may have been immortal, but Tails sure as hell wasn't. If he stayed out here any longer, the kitsune would freeze.

Shadow pushed himself up, and Tails eyed him for a second before going back to staring at the ground. The fox seemed to expect him to leave. He definitely didn't expect Shadow to reach his hand out to him again.

"Come on. It's too cold to stay out here." Shadow told him.

"I don't want to go back to my house." Tails pouted almost childishly.

"Who said anything about your house?" Shadow asked, feeling tired. "You can spend the night in Rouge's and my house. She won't mind. We've got a guest bedroom." _When did I make that decision?_ Shadow asked himself.

Tails eyed Shadow's hand. It was really cold here... Yet the rational part of his brain didn't trust Shadow. Why should he?

"Come on. Contrary to popular belief, I don't bite." Shadow said, and this time Tails knew he was joking. Without giving himself a chance for second thoughts, Tails grabbed his hand.

A small, barely visibly smile formed on Shadow's face as Tails took his hand, and then pulled the young fox up. And then it was gone. He released his hand once he was up. "Follow me, the house isn't too far from here." Shadow said before turning and heading off into a seemingly random part of the woods.

Tails rushed after the ebony hedgehog. Thoughts passed through his mind as he followed Shadow.

 _What if this was a trap or something?_ _Maybe Eggman and Shadow started working together or something?_ _Why else would Shadow have been so nice to him?_

 _I shouldn't go with him..._

 _I don't trust him._

Yet Tails kept walking. Maybe it was just because he was so cold, or that he knew he couldn't go back to his house, at least, not now, anyway. Maybe it was that Tails knew he could take care of himself. He wasn't defenseless. If he was walking straight into a trap, he could defend himself.

Or maybe the reason was that Tails just didn't care anymore.

 _What's the worst that could happen?_


	2. Chapter 2

All around them the rain continued to pour as the pair walked through the rest of the forest. Shadow paid no mind to the fox as Tails shivered from cold.

 _How long have I been out here?_ Tails wondered as he hugged himself for the little warmth he could provide. He had no idea where they were going. The fox's eyelids begin to droop down over his eyes. He was so tired... Each tree was starting to look the same to him. For all he knew he was just walking in a circle, over and over again... _How long until we get inside?_

"We're almost there." Shadow told him, as if the hedgehog knew what the was thinking.

"...Got it." The kitsune said after a second.

True to the midnight hedgehog's word, the two of them finally arrived at the house Shadow and Rogue shared. Or at least, to a house that Tails assumed was theirs as he had never _once_ seen the building before in his life. When the older hedgehog reached the door, he fiddled with his quills, looking for a key, and Tails looked uncertainly at the house.

It felt so strange to him. The house was in the middle of the woods, far from Station Square- or any civilization at all for that fact. Even though it was a simple black two story house it felt so... _strange._

To Tails, it felt so weird to see- or even know about- the place where Shadow lived. In fact, the hedgehog was so reclusive that it felt strange to learn _anything_ about him, even something as simple as where he lived.

The ebony hedgehog was a complete enigma. He always had been. So much so that the fox knew almost nothing about him. He never seemed to do what you would expect... Like how he had went from fighting Tails and the others to helping them all back on the Space Colony ARK, or how he had offered to let Tails spend the night at his house...

 _The Ark... That was years ago now..._

The door unlocked with a soft click, and although it was muffled by the sound of the constantly pounding rain, it was just enough to draw the attention of Tails. The kitsune turned his head as the door opened revealing the inside of the house.

Tails quickly entered the house right after Shadow, narrowly avoiding the closing door behind. His shoes hit the hard wood floor, and the door closed with with a slam. The rain was gone and Tails was finally inside. Finally he was out of the freezing cold.

They were in a dark hallway. The fox spun around looking at the hall. There were what seemed to be old picture frames along the walls, yet it was too dark for Tails to make out the photos inside them. The steady footsteps of the black hedgehog made Tails notice that Shadow was already heading down the hallway and into another, brighter room. One more glance around the unfamiliar hall and the fox headed to the lit up room.

The hall opened up into a large living room area much like the one in Tails' house. To his right there was a small kitchen area and past that there was a couch and television. In the kitchen area was another familiar face.

"Well well well, Shadow hun, I had no idea you were bringing company over." Rouge teased the black hedgehog, who himself only responded with an eye roll and a grunt. The bat was leaned against the counter of a kitchen area, drinking something from a glass. The bat looked at Tails with a special mischief in her eyes.

"Not that it's not nice to see you _with_ someone, but still, but couldn't you find better times to bring them over rather than _four in the morning?"_

 _It was really that late?_

"Or is it that I'm intruding on something... _private_ between the two of you?"

 _Private? What does she- Ohh..._

 _Oh._

Tails face flushed bright red as he figured out what Rouge was talking about. "No! That's not what's- he just- I mean I sort of- and he-" A flustered Tails attempted to stumble through his explanation, but only ended up embarrassing himself more. He could feel the heat burning off his cheeks.

Rouge laughed and Shadow couldn't hide his smirk even as he rolled his eyes.

"Relax. She's just teasing." Shadow said pouring himself some water.

"Oh." Tails said, beginning to calm down.

"Uh-huh." Rouge smiled for a moment before looking over Tails in greater detail. "And besides, I don't think you're really his type, anyway."

 _"Wha-?"_ Tails said, as his cheeks burned a brighter shade of red. Rouge burst out laughing.

 _"Is anybody?"_ The hedgehog said just loud enough for the bat to pick up before taking another long sip of water.

Shadow's question seemed to pierce the playful mood in the air as Rouge's laughing instantly died out, and a sad expression replaced her smile. Then she turned to face the sink behind her, the expression gone immediately afterwards, as if it wasn't ever there. "I guess not." The bat said quietly before she emptied her glass into the sink.

Shadow made a sound that roughly translated to some kind of agreement, and took another sip of water.

Rouge placed her mug in the sink before she looked around the room for a second and her eyes landed on the absolutely soaking Tails. "Wait here sweetie, you must be freezing. I'll be right back." Rouge said to Tails before running off to another room.

After she left Tails was once again left alone with the midnight hedgehog. Tails looked over to the also wet hedgehog expecting him to say something. Yet Shadow said nothing as he brought his cup to his lips and drank once more, staring of into nowhere as he did so, seemingly lost in thought. Tails felt like he should say something to the older hedgehog... after all, if not for him, Tails would still be out in the icy rain.

"...Thanks...Shadow." Tails said softly.

"Hmm?" Shadow said, turning his attention back to the young fox in front of him. "Oh yeah. Don't mention it."

And that was it. Shadow went back to staring off and Tails just stood there.

"Don't talk about _too_ much while I'm gone," Rouge kidded, coming out from another nearby room. She had returned with a towel. "Here, you can use this." She tossed to towel over to the fox.

"Thanks." Tails said as he caught the towel. He used the towel to begin to dry off, the water soaking his fur all over.

"So you want to tell me what happened?" Rouge asked Shadow. "Not that I mean to intrude, but it's not everyday that you just come home with someone entirely soaked from head to tow at such an awful hour in the morning.

Shadow just shrugged and took another drink from his mug. "Faker's friend is going to spend the night. Guess he got lost in the rainstorm, I'll bring him back to Faker's house in the morning." Shadow told Rouge, not telling the bat that he found him crying in the woods.

Tails heart sunk a little at the thought of returning to Sonic's house... but what was he expecting? It wasn't like the ebony hedgehog was going to have him stay any longer than one night, and plus the fox was going to have to return at _some_ point and see his best friend.

For now he was really just delaying the inevitable. Stalling.

Yet he couldn't go back... not now at least. _The two of them would still be there. Together._ And he really couldn't stand to see that again.

"Is someone still in there?" Rouge's voice said, waving her hand in front of Tails' face, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You spaced out there for a second, hun."

"Oh, sorry." Tails said before drying his head on the towel.

"It's fine." Rouge said. "Come on, you must be tired. We've got a guest room, and you're going to be the first person to use it in _years_."

Tails just nodded to the bat and then Rouge walked out the kitchen and through the living room. Before the two-tailed kitsune went to follow her, he took one glance at the midnight hedgehog in the kitchen.

Shadow stood in the kitchen alone now, with his mug still hovering inches away from his face. He was continuing to stare off in the distance, lost deep in thought, his face completely expressionless.

Quickly Tails turned back away from him and followed Rouge to the guest room.

 _A complete enigma that hedgehog was..._ Tails thought as he rushed to catch up to Rouge.

"So... I'm curious." The bat said after the kitsune caught up, turning down a hall.

"Huh?" Tails said, striding a few feet behind the bat.

"How did you manage to convince that hedgehog to let you stay here?" Rouge asked. "He's not exactly the... nicest person."

"Actually... he... he offered." Tails admitted. The bat stopped in the middle of the hall, turned around, and looked at Tails' with what seemed to be a new found interest.

"...Really now?" Rouge said, still eyeing Tails. "That _is_ quite the surprise..."

Without warning the bat turned and continued on her way, leaving Tails to catch up.

"If I were you, I'd take it as a compliment." Rouge called out to him. "You may be one of the few people that he doesn't completely hate."

* * *

Tails couldn't sleep.

Once again the restless fox shifted in bed, shuffling his blankets and pulling them closer in the process. Everything around him was perfect. Rouge had led him to a nice, spacious guest room on the second floor with a window over looking the front of the house. A large gray bed room stood at the edge of the room, covered with gray and white sheets. Lying down in the bed, Tails was finally warm and dry, and the freezing cold rain was nothing but a slowly dying drizzle outside now.

Yet... Tails just couldn't stop... _thinking._

Once Shadow had found him in the forest... his mind stopped focusing on Sonic and Amy. He was just distracted by the hedgehog. Just him being there made Tails' stop thinking about them. But he was gone now.

And there was no one to stop his mind from lingering back to the two of them.

Looking back at it... he couldn't stop believing that... that nothing had made sense. He had seen Sonic and _her_ together, yes... but nothing they did made sense. His mind may not have been processing it then, as it was probably overloaded with shock, but everything felt... off.

 _Amy's constant giggling... T_ _heir messy, rushed movements..._

There was something there, Tails knew it... But the thing that really convinced Tails was Sonic's reaction after Tails locked himself in the bathroom. He just... gave up. Sonic had never given up on him before. Yet when the only thing standing between them was a measly door... Sonic just said 'okay' and went back to Amy...

 _Why?_

Was it just that Tails' mind was panicking, and it was looking for every single little detail that meant that maybe, just maybe this wasn't real. That this wasn't happening _._

 _Why couldn't he just accept that they were together now?_

Tails turned over and looked out the dark window in the room. He felt a pang of guilt welt up inside him. What if Sonic was out there now, looking for him, thinking Tails was out there freezing? It would be all Tails' fault if Sonic froze looking for him. Because that was something Sonic would do. If his 'little buddy' was in danger in any way, Sonic would go out of his way to bring him back home and get him safe.

Tails could just imagine the blue hedgehog's panicked yelling now, screaming out Tails' name into the darkness as the rain came down on him. Tails knew he couldn't sit in the bed if that was what was going on. He couldn't let his best friend search for him for hours on end until morning came and Tails headed back.

The fox lifted the blankets off of him and silently made his way to the window. He pushed the window open and the sound of the dying rain filled his room.

Tails waited for a moment.

Then a minute.

Then five minutes.

Maybe he stood there listening for hour, who knows. But one thing is for sure.

He definitely didn't hear his name being yelled. No matter how weak it may have been.

The kitsune backed away from the open window and put himself back into the bed, this time on top the sheets. Nothing. There was nothing.

 _Maybe I just couldn't hear him from here_. Tails tried to tell himself. _I'm just too far away..._

No... no, he hadn't gone _that_ far... He... he just being a fool. Tails was sure Sonic was definitely not calling his name. Hell, Tails couldn't even care about himself anymore... Why would Sonic? Why would anybody?

Slowly Tails' eyes began to close, heavy from exhaustion. Just before he feel asleep however, one question filled his mind.

 _Then... then why did Shadow?_

He remembered Rouge's words... That maybe he was one of the few people that Shadow didn't completely hate.

 _Why did he feel so proud of that?_


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning, you," Rouge said as the drowsy kitsune walked into the kitchen. "Or rather, I suppose I should say good afternoon, hmm?"

"Already?" Tails asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Uh-huh." Rouge said, leaning against the counter in the exact spot she had been the night before. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine." Tails lied. The fox had barely slept a wink. His sleep was interrupted multiple times throughout the night, by seemingly nothing at all. Whenever he woke, which seemed to be all too often, he'd toss and turn until he went back asleep for a few more moments. It came to the point where Tails had stopped trying to sleep and had lied in the bed, doing nothing besides looking at the ceiling above him.

"Glad to hear." Rouge said. "Sorry, there's not a lot of food in the house. I haven't stocked the house in weeks and Shadow doesn't need to eat." Rouge rolled her eyes. "Ultimate Lifeform and all."

"Right." Tails commented before sitting at the table. "I'm... not really that hungry anyway." The fox admitted truthfully. His appetite had seemed to have completely deserted him.

"Suit yourself, hun. Shadow's off doing who knows what, though I'm sure he'll be back soon enough to bring you to your house." Rouge told the fox.

"Got it." Tails said dully. He'd been gone for almost half a day now. Without a word to his 'older brother.' The blue hedgehog would've certainly noticed he wasn't still in the bathroom now.

 _I hope Sonic's not too worried_ _..._ _And I really hope she's not still there._

Despite all his attempts and reasoning to not blame the pink hedgehog and quell his rage against the girl, Tails still couldn't stand the thought of them being together.

 _Of Sonic not being his._

"What's wrong?" Rouge asked the fox.

"What?" Tails asked, snapping out of his thoughts. "Oh, no. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." Tails poorly lied and the bat sighed, obviously not believing him. Yet she didn't push him to tell the truth.

"You know... Sonic's probably really worried about you." Rouge commented, with a hint of... _concern?_ "I don't know Sonic and you that well, but anybody can tell you guys are real close."

"Yeah..." Tails whispered. "Yeah we are. Really close." _Even something like this won't get in the way of that. Not if I don't let it._

A long pause filled the room as Rouge searched for something to say, trying to keep the conversation going but having difficulty doing so.

"So... how did you end up lost in the woods?" Rouge questioned.

"What?" Tails questioned, before remembering how Shadow had passed off finding the kitsune crying in the woods as him being lost. "Oh, I..." The words got stuck in his throat before he could say anymore. _I didn't._

 _I was running away. From them. From the very memory or thought of the two of them together. From the sick feeling I get in my gut ever time I realize the truth._

 _That he doesn't love me like I love him._

"I got scared... uh... by the thunder." Tails lied, knowing fully well there had been only rain the night before, but hopefully Rouge didn't know that. "Even now that I've grown up, I'm still scared of a lot of things." That part was true. Sure, his fears weren't as bad now, but they were still there.

"Interesting..." Rouge said with a hint of disappointment, though it seemed to Tails that she bought the lie. A final silence filled the room as the bat gave up on trying to continue the conversation any further. "I'll be upstairs." She said, pushing off from the kitchen counter. "If you need anything sweetie, just ask."

"Got it." Tails said as the bat walked off, leaving him alone with only his thoughts. The kitsune buried his face into his arms, holding back a tired yawn. Behind him, the bat's footsteps could be heard as she walked off. There was a pause, as if Rouge had stopped, and there was no sound for a moment.

If Tails had cared to look back, he would've seen the bat stopped in her path, looking back at the lone fox with a concerned expression. But there was also something there besides worry for the kitsune.

Curiosity. Rouge couldn't help but stare and wonder about the odd little fox.

 _There was just something about him..._

Finally after another moment Rouge turned away from him and continued to walk, the footsteps returning to fill the otherwise void silence.

* * *

A half hour passed after that before Shadow returned.

The black hedgehog came in from the front door, slamming it behind him after he entered. He had needed some time to himself to... sort things out.

He still found it fairly odd how he had found the fox was completely alone in the woods in the dead of the night. And he still found it weird how the kitsune had reacted after Shadow had first found him.

 _"Isn't it a little bit cold to be sitting out here in the rain?" He had commented sarcastically, only to receive no reply._

 _"I take it you're not going to tell me what happened, are you." Still nothing._

 _"I don't know if you're lost or something," He had asked the fox. "But I can take you back to the house faker and you share if you want."_

 _That seemed to have gotten the kitsune's attention. The fox had looked up at the black hedgehog, yet still made no move to get up, as if that wasn't even an option. "...I'm good."_

What could have possibly caused it? The fox hadn't been lost, that much was for sure. Shadow had wondered if he had been right about his earlier realization that Faker had been the cause of the fox acting that way.

Then again, Shadow had wondered why he still even cared about this stupid event. It was stupid that it would bother him so much... yet still it continued to pester him. Why though? It wasn't important. It wasn't his business, it wasn't his problem.

 _He shouldn't care about what was wrong about the Faker's fox friend._

Yet he did. And it was obvious because if he hadn't, he wouldn't have tried to confront the kitsune. He wouldn't have went and sat out in the freezing rain, keeping the stubborn fox company for a near half an hour if he didn't. And he certainly wouldn't have brought him back to the house him and Rouge shared if he hadn't. No amount of curiousity on the hedgehog's behalf could possibly bring him to do so.

 _Why did he care though? The fox wasn't important_. Shadow thought as he walked through the hallway of the house, heading towards the kitchen.

"You ready to-" Shadow began to ask as he walked into the room, only to find that Faker's friend sat sound asleep at the table. "-go?" The fox's head rest on top of his arms, tilted to the side. Shadow could just pick up the fox's light, steady breathing from where he stood.

"I found him like this," Rouge's voice came from behind the hedgehog. "About twenty minutes ago." Rouge continued as Shadow turned to face her. "He said he slept fine last night. Not so sure I believe him now." The bat stood in the living room portion of the room, looking over a photo on the wall with a sad smile on her face. "There's something wrong with him." Rouge shook her head.

"He's upset about something." Shadow added in, forcing himself to pretend like he didn't care. Simply because it was completely unlike him _to care._

"No doubt about that." Rouge agreed. "Right now, it's harder to hold a conversation with him than you."

Shadow feigned mock surprise. "That's a hard accomplishment to beat." He sarcastically commented, although it was without a doubt true.

"Right?" Rouge said, ignoring the sarcasm. She sighed. "You might want to wake him. It's getting time to bring him back."

"Yeah, got it." Shadow said, looking back once again at the sleeping fox. When he turned back, he saw Rouge walking away to the upstairs hall. The hedgehog went to go wake the sleeping kitsune when his eyes somehow caught the photo Rouge had been staring at.

It was a picture... of the blue Faker's birthday party. That felt so long ago... It had been years ago, now that he thought about it. Shadow's eyes drifted across the framed photograph.

Faker stood in the middle of the photo wearing his usual, cocky smile and annoying expression. All of the faker's friends surrounded the hedgehog. Without really thinking about it Shadow eyes quickly ran over them as he started attempting to list all of them.

A flustered Knuckles and an amused Rouge stood in the far back talking to each other behind the picnic table, while Team Chaotix's Vector, Espio and Charmy talked amongst themselves across the table.

The young rabbit friend of Faker's- Shadow believed her name was Cream- sat next to the pink hedgehog- Amy or something? The rabbit seemed to be talking to the girl, but the pink hedgehog was only staring off to somewhere.

Or particularly, someone. Faker. Shadow snorted in disgust. That pink hedgehog was the one always chasing Faker around, wasn't she?

In the middle of the photo, also sitting close to Amy and Cream was Silver and a pink cat who Shadow had heard from someone that her name was Blaze.

Finally, directly beside the azule hedgehog was the two tailed orange kitsune. Tails. He was looking up at Faker with a big smile and a happy expression.

 _Hard to believe he was the same fox that Shadow came across last night in the woods. The Tails in the picture was happy and energetic, and not to mention he was only a kid then._

Shadow's eyes continued to search over the entire photo until he found a seemingly empty spot in the group. He had the sudden realization that that was supposed to be _his_ spot. Shadow remembered that had left the party as soon as nobody was paying attention to him.

 _Which didn't take very long._ Shadow added. _The only ones there who even said anything were Rouge and Faker._ Everyone else was too uncomfortable with the black hedgehog.

 _So Shadow had left._

 _It wasn't even like he had wanted to be there in the first place anyway._ Shadow reasoned. _And besides,_ _it_ _wasn't like anyone there missed me._

 _And if they did, I don't really care._

* * *

"Wake up." The voice said above his shoulder as its owner shook the fox awake.

"Huh?" Tails said before yawning. The hand fell from Tails' shoulder, causing the fox to look up, only to see Shadow standing over him. The tired kitsune rubbed his eyes. "Time to go?"

The hedgehog nodded in response.

Tails pushed himself out of the chair. "Alright." He said quietly. The pair of them said nothing to each other as they walked towards the door. Once Shadow swung the door open and the two were outside, Tails felt the sick feeling welt up in his stomach once again.

He was going back to his house that he shared with Sonic, sure, but he was also going back to where he saw them. Even that wasn't the big deal though. Tails was more worried about what his 'big brother' would say to him. How he would react.

 _Would he be angry at Tails for running off?_

Or what he might see when he got back. Would she still be there? Would they be together?

Tails hoped- prayed that that wasn't the case.

He wasn't sure he could handle it if it was.

* * *

Usually Shadow enjoyed silence. It gave him time to think, sure, but it was also peaceful and calm. Thinking back now, Shadow wasn't sure when he had started preferring the calmness over everything else but he had. It was... nice, to be able to relax every once in a while.

But the silence as the pair walked was not the same. It hung over the two of them, feeling uncomfortable and just... not right. Usually Shadow would be fine with silence as they walked but not now. There was just something about the orange kitsune that let Shadow know he had to say something.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked, breaking the long silence.

"Huh?" Tails' head turned to face the black hedgehog.

"Why are you so upset?" Shadow rephrased his question.

"Who said I was upset?"

"I found you crying in the rain last night at two in the morning." Shadow reminded the fox. The kitsune gave no answer, retreating back into silence. "You're not usually like this."

"How would you know that?" Tails spat back harshly. "You barely even know me."

"That's true." Shadow admitted. "But I do know when something's wrong." When Tails said nothing, Shadow took it as a sign to continue. "And I do know you're not usually like this. Usually you're happy and smart. And that you sometimes get nervous or scared, but you try not to let that get in your way."

Silence once again, and it was obvious to Shadow that the fox wasn't going to say anything else. At least, that was what Shadow had thought.

"...How do you know all that stuff?" Tails asked quietly, looking up toward Shadow.

"I- erm..." Shadow said feeling a bit flustered, realizing he had just gone off on a little speech. "I guess I'm just... really good a paying attention."

"...Got it." Tails said.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Shadow asked, looking back at Tails.

For a moment the fox was silent, but then he opened his mouth and for a small second Shadow thought that he might just find out what was wrong. When a moment passed and no words came out, Shadow realized his hope was in vain, as the kitsune once again. closed his mouth, as if deciding it was better to not say anything.

The two continued to walk and after staring at him for another moment, Shadow turned back around. To his surprise he found that he wasn't frustrated or angry with the kitsune.

Instead he was only more curious about what was wrong with him.


	4. Chapter 4

"I think... this is far enough," The kitsune said, coming to a complete stop before turning to face Shadow. The two of them had paused at the edge of the forest, and just beyond the fox, Shadow could see Faker's house.

"...I guess so," Shadow awkwardly answered. For a moment, neither of them said a word or made a movement to leave. A small feeling regret began to build up in Shadow's stomach, confusing the hedgehog. _Why did he care if the kitsune was leaving? So what if he hadn't told Shadow what was wrong?_

"...I'll... I'll see you around," Tails said before turned and began to head to his house.

"Yeah... See you around," Shadow said as he watched the fox run toward his house. After another moment he turned himself around to head back the way he came.

"Shadow?" The hedgehog stopped and looked over his shoulder to face the sound of the orange fox's voice. Tails stood just in the yard of the house, looking at the older hedgehog.

"...Thanks," Tails said before turning and continuing to his house, this time with no interruptions. Shadow the Hedgehog only watched the kitsune walk off to the front door of his house, not making any move to leave. Finally after a minute or so, Shadow forced his feet to move once again and begin to carry his body back the way he came.

* * *

Never had he been so nervous to enter his own house. All Tails could think about was what Sonic might say. What might happen if Amy was still there. He didn't know what to expect, what to prepare himself for. He wasn't sure what he was going to face once he stepped inside.

So Tails simply prepared himself for everything.

Tails found himself reaching for the doorknob before he knew it. The door was unlocked, as usual. The kitsune pushed the door open slowly, revealing the empty hallway. Tails stepped into the quiet house, his resonating of his footsteps the only noise to break the silence.

Tails waited a moment, expecting to here his name called. After a moment, Tails was left with no choice but to call out for his best friend.

"Sonic!" He loudly called. "I'm back!" There was no answer from the cobalt hero. "Sonic?"

"Hello?" Tails made his way through the familiar house, exiting the hallway and leading straight into the main room.

He eyes traveled across the room, passing the sofa and television as well as the kitchen area and landing straight on the wall in front of him to the right.

 _That's where they'd been._ Right next to the door to Sonic's room. Tails kept walking, purposefully going the long way to avoid the spot.

He walked past the couch and to the bathroom he had been last night. The door was wide open, unlocked. Tails could see the still wide open window across from him.

He continued walking through the room, before finding himself directly in front of the door to Sonic's room. The door was shut tight. Tails' hand gripped the doorknob and the kitsune sucked in a breath of air before pushing the door open, bracing himself for whatever- or whoever, was behind it.

If Amy was still here, he would find her behind this door.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the door creeked open.

 _Nobody. No Sonic, but also no Amy._ Tails breathed out in relief, before another question crossed his mind.

 _If Sonic wasn't here, where was he?_

Tails cautiously entered the bedroom and took a look around. Sonic's bed lay in the middle of the room, the turned over sheets messy and abandoned. As usual, Sonic's entire room was dirty, but that was no shock to Tails.

Socks and gloves were scattered carelessly across the floor, and across his dresser, the azure hedgehog's possessions were hazardously placed.

 _When did that break?_ Tails asked himself, spotting the broken lamp on the floor near the dresser. _That's not important right now._ Tails decided. _What's important is finding out where Sonic went._

* * *

 _What even was it about that fox, anyway?_ Shadow asked himself as he walked through the autumn forest. As he continued his feet carelessly crunched over the fallen leaves, breaking them apart underneath him.

 _What's so special about him that makes me care about what's wrong with him? Or about if he's okay?_

 _I'm not supposed to care. It's not supposed to bother me... but it does. Why?_

 _What makes any more special than any of Faker's other "friends?"_

Shadow clenched his fists into a ball. He just couldn't answer that one question. _Why?_

Why did Shadow feel the need to make sure the younger fox was alright? Why did he bother to help the two-tailed kitsune in the first place? What did he gain out helping him?

 _Nothing._ Shadow was able to answer his own question. There was no point in helping the kitsune for any reason at all, and Shadow knew that.

 _Then why did he still do it?_

* * *

The loud slam of the front door startled the orange fox. Tail's head whipped around to face the entrance. He could easily recognize the blue figure standing there.

"Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, without thinking about how Sonic might react to seeing him after last night.

Instead the cobalt hero only smiled and walked over to Tails. "What's up, little bro?" When Sonic reached his little brother, he reached his hand out and ruffled up the fur on Tails' head.

"Not much..." Tails nervously replied, not knowing how Sonic may react.

"I didn't even see you this morning. You must have been working in your lab all night, am I right?" Sonic said to the fox.

"Uhh... yeah." Tails said confused. _What was Sonic talking about?_

"It's already getting pretty late. I just spent most of the day running around, looking for Eggman, as usual." Sonic said, walking past the fox. "Sorry I went off without you this time, I just didn't want to disturb you."

"Oh. Okay." The tiniest part of Tails' couldn't help but feel disappointed that Sonic hadn't even been looking for him, but the rest of him was really, really confused. _Was Sonic saying that he hadn't even **known** I was gone?_

"Yeah... gotta say, I miss the Egghead." Sonic sat down at the kitchen table and kicked his feet up on the table. "It's been weeks since our last encounter with him... Gets kind of boring without him around. Must just mean he's planning something big, right? Some giant scheme for us to bring down."

"Yeah." Tails said, not really listening to his older brother.

"You must be pretty hungry huh? I can make dinner tonight if you want."

"I'm good. I just ate before you got back." Tails lied.

"Uhhhh, really? You're going to make me eat all by myself?" Sonic whined jokingly.

"Guess so. I'm to go do some work in the lab."

"Jeez, I just got back. You won't even hang out with me for a minute?" Sonic kidded.

"Sorry Sonic, it's just that I'm really busy with... something." Tails said before heading toward the lab. "I think there are still some chili dogs in the fridge."

"Cool. See you little bud." Sonic said, grinning at his younger brother, still leaning back in his seat.

Tails walked down the stairs and into his workshop, the door shutting behind him, leaving him alone in a dark room. He hit the light switch to his left and his workshop came alive.

With the room now brightened, Tails stood in the middle of where all his tools, his machines, and his creations awaited for him. Usually this place was his paradise. His only personal heaven-on-Mobius.

 _Not today. Today, the machines were just not enough for him. His creations, his works... just weren't enough to make him forget. To let him enjoy himself._

 _To make him happy._

Tails laid down on his bed, facing up to the ceiling, as he had long since moved his bedroom down into his workshop. _Was Sonic really never even looking? Did he really never notice I was gone?_

 _But he... he saw me lock myself in the bathroom... right?_

 _He was... right there._

* * *

Shadow found himself stopping halfway back to the house he and Rouge shared. Not because he was tired... he just wanted to stop and collect his thoughts a little bit more. The last day has been so... unusual for him.

Shadow sat himself down underneath the nearest tree, leaning against the trunk. He let a sigh of relief escape his lips. Now that he had finally dealed with he kitsune he could go back to his normal routine.

Yay... his normal routine.

He could go back to calmly walking through the forests of Mobius, strolling aimlessly.

By himself, for hours, every afternoon...

 _...Is that really all I do now?_ Shadow thought to himself opening his eyes widely.

Sure, there were times Rouge needed help on a mission from G.U.N... But really, besides that... he really didn't do... anything. At all.

He'd never really thought about it like that... It was kind of depressing... There were times in the past when Faker and friends had needed help from him with some dumb adventure and he'd helped them... but that never really happened anymore. There were no real adventures anymore. Not for him.

 _Should that really even bother me?_ Shadow asked himself. _Faker was always the crazy one, never having a moments rest. Why should it bother me that I haven't been forced to get involved with any of their problems?_

Shadow closed his eyes, moving his back to get a better position against the tree.

 _I guess I just miss being..._

 _...Useful._

* * *

Tails couldn't bring himself to sleep. Even while he had barely slept the night prior, his mind was too busy doing what it always did. Thinking. He was still lying in bed facing the ceiling.

 _Sonic had to have seen me._ The realization had long since been sunken into Tails' head. _Heck, Sonic and Amy even acknowledged it!_

 _So why hadn't Sonic done... anything? He didn't go after me, didn't search, didn't even admit that anything was different when I finally did return! He just pretended that I had been in his lab all morning!_ Tails angrily thought to himself.

 _So did Sonic just not care? Did he just think I would be fine by myself? That I would be fine in the freezing rain for hours on end? Hell, for all he knows- or cares- I spent the entire damned night out there! He doesn't even know about Shadow showing up and brought me to his own house!_ Tails shifted in the bed, violently jerking the blanket as he did so.

 _I could have died! Frozen to death! And... and..._

 _...and all he cared about was her!_

 _Never mind his supposed "best friend" and "little brother" who had been with him for years, the second Amy showed up, and what was he? Nothing?_

 _He didn't even have the decency to say anything about Amy!_

Tails clenched the sheets tightly and pulled them closer. In his own swirl of rage filled thoughts, he hadn't ever realized he had began sobbing quietly to himself.

In fact, tears had been pouring off his cheeks, soaking the bed beneath him. Tails flailed his head around, attempting to shake the tear streams away. _Haven't I done enough crying in the last two days?_ Quickly he wiped away the remaining tear stains on his arm.

 _Deep breaths Tails._ He told himself, trying to calm down. _Just deep breaths._

 _I'm... I'm not thinking clearly._ Tails told himself, only half-believing the statement. _I'm sure Sonic would never just... give up me, his "little buddy."_

 _Sonic's_ _not like that. He's never been like that. He's never given up on his friends. Never abandoned them._

 _There's some reason... some reason that Sonic hadn't gone after him... that Sonic was pretending everything was normal._ Tails kept thinking. _I just know it. It doesn't make sense to me right now... but there is a reason._

 _I just wish I knew what it was..._

 _Maybe... there's a way for me to find out._

Sonic wasn't going to tell Tails anything that was for sure... So there was really only one other person to talk to.

 _Amy._ As much as he didn't want to, the pink hedgehog was the only one Tails could hope would have an answer.

Tails looked over at the clock in his workshop. It was about 6:00.

It wasn't too late to go now... Sure Amy's house wasn't too close, but it wasn't much farther than Shadow's.

Might as well go now, Tails decided before swinging his legs off the bed.


	5. Chapter 5

As Tails walked through the dark forest of Mobius, the only thought he had on his mind was Amy's house. The kitsune had slipped out the backdoor of his workshop, not saying anything to his brother. He had a gut feeling that if he told Sonic he was going to Amy's house, it wouldn't go over well... and he always hated lying to the blue hedgehog... so the less Sonic knew, the better.

Bedsides, he wasn't the only one hiding something. He knew Sonic pretending everything was normal was just some front of the hero's, and that whatever the answer was to why Sonic was acting like he was, he would find it out through Amy. Or at least... he _hoped_ he would find it from her.

The pink hedgehog _had_ to know what was causing Sonic to act so oblivious... right? She had been with him last night, so she would be able to provide some sort of explanation to the two tailed fox...hopefully.

 _There I go again, second guessing myself. Like always. Amy has to know. I'm sure she'll be able to tell me._

Tails sighed to himself, really wanting to believe that that was the case... but the more he thought about it, the more improbable it seemed. Sonic himself, Tails' best friend, had just pretended that nothing had happened. What if Amy herself did the same? What if she acted just as oblivious as the blue hedgehog? The fox hoped that wouldn't happen... because then Tails would _really_ want to know what had happened... And he'd have no other way to find out.

While Tails certainly didn't particularly agree with any of Amy's continued attempts to force Sonic to marry her, (and her last one which seemed to somewhat work) Tails was still friends with crazy pink hedgehog. Somewhat, at least. So the kitsune was really hoping Amy could provide him with the truth.

Tails shivered as the cold wind hit him against his side. Thankfully it wasn't raining, because after freezing his tails off the night prior, he wasn't particularly eager for the situation to repeat itself as he walked through the forest. Sure, it was beginning to get colder as night settled in, but it wasn't nearly as cold as being stuck out in yesterday's rainstorm.

Exhausted, the young fox stifled a yawn as he continued on his way, headed towards Amy's house. Mentally, Tails swore to himself that he was definitely going to get some sleep later tonight, after barely getting any shut eye the night before. Emotionally, this last day had taken quite the toll on the kitsune... but the fox hoped that soon he would be provided with the answers to his questions.

There had just been something... off with the whole entire encounter... it just didn't seem right to the orange fox- and in more than one way. He had so many questions about the entire encounter that he wasn't sure how Amy could possibly provide him with the answers he was looking for. Questions like, "Why had Amy been with Sonic in the first place?" and, "Why had my big brother been kissing the hedgehog that he supposedly hated?" were the first things to spring to Tails' mind.

 _I guess I'll find out soon._ Tails told himself as the woods parted to reveal a lonely, dark house. Amy's house. Finally, he had arrived.

 _Was she... home?_ Tails thought to himself, realizing the fatal flaw of his plan. _It's going to be rather hard to get any answers if she's not even here._

Suddenly his ears instinctively twitched and picked up as they heard a noise. To the fox, it almost sounded like...

 _Crying?_ Confused, Tails stopped for a moment, to confirm that, in fact, it was the sounds of sobbing that he was hearing coming from the pink hedgehog's house... but why? What was causing _her_ to be upset? That didn't make any sense...

Curious, the young fox began to walk a little faster as he headed to Amy's front door.

* * *

Back at the kitsune's house, Sonic sat at the kitchen table with an untouched chili dog and a scowl on his face. Both were signs that something was wrong with the blue hedgehog. The first one significantly more so. The scowl had been plastered on his face since the moment Tails had headed down to his workshop.

He just couldn't place the feeling that he had been stuck with him since that very morning.

 _Guilt? Anger? Panic? Maybe a mixture of the three..._

The running earlier had helped. It was so easy to distract himself from the wretched feeling in his gut with the wind rushing by him and the ringing in his ears as he broke the sound barrier... but now that he was lounging around, left with nothing but his own thoughts... it wasn't so simple. His mind strayed back to what had happened, the incident repeating in his head, over and over again. He kept wondering if it was maybe just a little bit his fault.

Sonic eyed the waiting chili dog on the table with disgust. (A first for him.) His gut felt so sick, that Sonic knew it was pointless to try and eat anything.

Looking around, his gaze fell on the window placed opposite of him, right on the other side of the table.

 _It wasn't too late yet..._ Sonic thought to himself. _Maybe I have time for another run._

 _It wouldn't be too long,_ he reasoned with himself. _Just through the surrounding forest a few times. Maybe a quick run to Green Hill Zone..._ Before reason could catch up with him and tell him that he had _just_ gotten back from a run, Sonic was out of his seat and on his feet.

With true supersonic speed, the blue hedgehog was at the door, holding it wide open. "Tails!" He called out, not really expecting an answer. "I'm going out, I'll be right back!" And then he was gone. By the time the door shut behind him, the hedgehog had broken the sound barrier and was deep in the woods of Mobius.

* * *

Tails found the front door unlocked, and walked into the house after a moment of hesitation. The sobbing was a lot clearer now that he was in the house. It was undoubtedly the pink hedgehog's.

The kitsune carefully made his way down the dark entrance hallway of Amy's house, unfamiliar with the house's layout. While he had known the location of the building, he himself had only been inside a small handful of times. As he walked through the hallway he emerged into spacious living room. Just like the hallway, the living room was completely shrouded by darkness.

 _There._ The fox pinpointed the crying to be coming from the closed door a bit to the right of the couch. Paying no more attention to the details of the room, Tails made his way to the shut door. Slowly he turned the doorknob and opened the door into the room. It was a bedroom. Amy's bedroom.

The walls of the room were pink, a shade that would undoubtedly be bright and vibrant once exposed to light... but left in the dark, it was oddly gloomy and sad. The entire room was without any light, like the rest of the house.

Tails spotted the pink hedgehog first thing, lying atop the covers of the bed facing away from the door. The girl was sobbing and shivering uncontrollably. Not wanting to cause any alarm, the fox rapped his knuckles against the now open door, making his presence known.

 _"_ Hey _."_ Tails awkwardly started, not really sure what to say, and Amy froze up. The pink hedgehog sniffled and wiped her face with the bed sheet underneath her. "Amy?"

"What do y-you want?" She said, in a tone that managed to be both angry and weak at the same time, as if the slightest touch could shatter it. Tails felt his throat dry, knowing fully well what happened when you angered an emotionally distraught Amy Rose.

"I just-" Tails began before Amy cut him off.

"Why are you even-!" Amy began, yelling loudly as she rolled over to face the fox, tearing the sheets off of her in order to do so. However, as soon as she came face to face with the kitsune, her yelling stopped and the rage in her face faded away to confusion. "Tails?" She asked in disbelief. "...You're here?"

"...yeah?" Tails said, not understanding Amy's sudden mood swing.

Her eyes narrowed at the orange fox. "Wh-Why are you here?" Amy attempted to say in the same, angry tone, but instead came out as watery and pathetic, the previous illusion destroyed by the shock of seeing the kitsune here. "S-sonic put you up to this, didn't he?" Tails shook his head in response, not exactly understanding what she meant. Amy obviously didn't believe Tails' answer, instead shifting in her bed and rolling to face the other way. "Just tell him to leave me alone!"

"Amy-" Tails began, but was forced to bite his tongue when Amy snapped at him once more.

"I said leave me alone!" Amy yelled back at him, tightly pulling her legs into her chest. "I don't want to see any more of that stupid jerk!" The weak tone that had been present only a moment ago had been replaced by one of full rage on Amy's behalf.

Just to be safe, the confused Tails took a step back. His instincts kicked in as he analyzed the situation he was. He had one emotionally unstable pink hedgehog on his hands, who couldn't quite decide if she should be sad or angry, as well as one blue hedgehog who was pretending that nothing was wrong, when there was clearly something _very,_ _very_ wrong.

Oh, and yeah. Said pink hedgehog was also extremely angry at said blue hedgehog, if Amy's previous comments were anything to go by.

...But why? Why was she made at Sonic? Why was she upset at all?

Tails breathed out and exasperated, tired sigh. He had come here for answers, and now he was only getting more questions.

 _I suppose this can't get much worse now?_ Tails thought to himself staring at the enraged, shaking pink hedgehog who had decided to go back to crying. He took a moment to look over the distraught hedgehog. While she was mad at _Sonic_ and not Tails himself, previous experiences told the fox that she wouldn't be too against using others for a punching bag for her own emotions. Which was just great for him...

 _Come on, focus. Stop complaining and actually try to calm her down._

 _I need to handle this delicately._ Tails thought to himself, as if it wasn't obvious enough. _Amy's about as dangerous as a ticking time bomb. I say the wrong thing..._ _Well, it's no explosion, but a hammer to the head is going to hurt pretty bad._

In the back of his mind, Tails couldn't help be remark to himself that this wouldn't be the first "bomb" he'd diffused, the first one being an actual bomb in Station Square all those years ago...

* * *

 _This... this is more like it!_ Sonic exclaimed mentally as he dodged incoming trees at his high speeds, a trivial task for him, who had been doing the same thing for what felt like forever now. The feeling in his gut was still there, lurking, but for now, Sonic couldn't feel a thing, perfectly happy.

 _Wish there was some action though._ He thought to himself as he weaved through the forest. _Nothing like a little race to get the heart pounding. Or a battle with Eggman,_ though Sonic much preferred though former to the latter, as some of Eggman's most recent designs had just been rubbish. As he ran, Sonic tried to limit down his options.

He hadn't tried to challenge Shadow to a race for a few weeks now... but even if he did, Faker would probably turn down Sonic's "childish game" and tell him how "as the Ultimate Lifeform, he had better things to do."

Perhaps a brawl with Knuckles then? It was always fun to rile up the red guardian, who was usually so uptight that all you had to do was _look_ at him the wrong way to get him angry at you. Sure, it would be a pain to get to Angel Island... And Knuckles would probably complain about Sonic ruining his sleep... but still... it _could_ be fun...

 _That's it!_ Sonic decided, smiling happily to himself. _It's time to pay the echidna a visit..._ He thought, all former ideas of how this would be a "short run" completely abandoned in the hedgehog's mind.

* * *

In hindsight, diffusing an actual bomb and calming down an upset Amy were two very different things.

For starters, Tails would rather be stuck with the actual bomb. He only realized this when Amy's hammer first connected with him after the fox had attempted to comfort the girl.

He hadn't _actually_ been expecting the psychopath to try and hit him.

The pain quickly flooded over his tails, the area where the hammer had connected with him. "Son of a-!" Tails never got the chance to finish his sentence, as he was instead forced to try to dodge a second incoming hammer swing as Amy launched herself out of her bed. He only barely hopped out of the way when Amy's hammer connected with her floorboards, cracking the area where Tails had only just been standing. Tails grabbed his damaged namesakes and clutched them tight.

 _Damn, that hammer hurt!_

"I said, **LEAVE ME ALONE!** " Amy yelled out again, tears falling from her clenched eyelids. Amy blindly swung again, narrowly missing the kitsune.

"Amy, stop!" Tails said right before another hammer swing forced him to dodge out of the way. "Just calm down!" Another hammer crash. "Take it easy!" The next hammer missed his face by not even half an inch. "AMY!"

No matter how much he yelled, the pink hedgehog would not cease her assault against the kitsune. She was just too blinded by her emotions. Tails knew this, and he realized he was going to have to resort to more drastic measures.

 _Oh boy._ Tails thought to himself as he dodged another blindly swung hammer swing and backed away, into the living room. _That is easier said than done._ Tails wasn't sure what he could do. He was never much of a fighter, instead preferring to rely on his smarts and his inventions. Even if he tried, he wasn't even sure if he could disarm the pink hedgehog... and if he attempted a spin dash, he was afraid he would harm the enraged girl.

Another hammer swing, another dodge. He was running out of space, he needed to do something fast, or else he was going to get backed into the wall... and that was the _last_ thing he wanted to happen right now. Tails racked his mind looking for any solution to his present situation, but it was rather hard to do so while dodging incoming hammer swings.

Tails could see only one option in his panicked state. One reckless, risky, stupid option, but an option nonetheless. The wall was just a step behind him at this point. If he was gonna do it... he needed to do it now. Not stopping to let himself hesitate, Tails took a deep breath and abandoned his smarts in favor of the stupid, reckless alternative.

...And tackled the hammer wielding maniac Amy to the ground. Thankfully, the impact caused the weapon to fly out of Amy's grip, soaring across the room, away from the angry Amy Rose. Once the two landed on the ground, Tails tried his best to pin the upset Amy to ground, yet Amy's wild thrashing was too much and Tails was losing his grip.

"Amy! Please! Stop!" Tails yelled as Amy violently turned underneath him, wanting nothing more than to probably retrieve her hammer and bash Tails' skull in, no doubt.

Amy opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out, tears still streaming from her eyes. After a moment of more struggling resistance, Amy stopped moving, finally beginning to calm down. Tails didn't dare move, however, unsure if pulling away now would result in Amy returning to her previous rage. Instead, all he did was wait as Amy's breathing became more and more regular and calm.

Sniffling underneath him, Amy was finally calm enough to say something.

"Let me go." Her tone was back to the weak, broken tone from before, but Tails was still hesitant to listen to her, not wanting to be forced to dodge anymore hammer swings today. "Please."

"Are you going to go back to trying to kill me?" Tails asked.

"...no." Amy's answer was quiet.

Tails' common sense told him not to, but the kitsune still forced himself to let go of the pink hedgehog. Once he did so and moved off of Amy, the pink hedgehog sat up and dried her teary eyes on her arm.

"Thanks." More sniffles followed the pink hedgehog's comment.

"Yeah." Tails replied back, happy that Amy hadn't (yet) gone back to killing him. The pair sat in silence, until Tails' curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to get what he came here for. _Answers._

"Amy?" He said, to which the pink hedgehog only looked at him in reply. Amy's face was still covered in streaks of tears, and her eyes were still rather watery, but as far as Tails could tell, the crying had stopped, for now. "What happened?"

Amy looked away from the fox. After she said nothing for a moment, panic began to rise in Tails' chest. What if she decided not to tell him? What if he dealt with all of this for no payoff, no answers to any of his questions?

"...nothing good." Finally, Amy's delayed response came, sure, it was vague and lacking any useful information to the kitsune, but it was at least something. If anything, it showed that Amy was willing to at least talk about the entire situation with the fox, and wasn't going to just pretend nothing had happened.

"Tell me what happened." He repeated his question.

Amy sighed, obviously not liking Tails' question too much. "You mean about yesterday, don't you?"

"Yeah."

Amy paused for a moment, as if to think about, but instead asked a question of her own. "So Sonic really didn't send you." Her tone was more surprised now than anything else.

"Seeing as I have no idea what you mean by that, yeah, he didn't send me." Tails responded, irritated. He wanted answers. "Now please, Amy, what happened?"

Amy sighed again. The two sat in silence for a moment, Tails waiting for a response and Amy searching for the right words to explain it. "It... it was just a stupid mistake, that was all. An accident."

"...what do you mean?" Tails, asked, confused.

"...it was mostly my fault..." Amy said. "I just..." Amy trailed off, not finishing her sentence.

"What was mostly your fault Amy? What did you do?" Tails' heart was pumping once again. _Finally,_ he was going to get some answers.

"...we met up in downtown Station Square." Amy began. "I... I found him at a bar."

 _A... bar? Sonic? No... that can't be right... Sonic... doesn't even drink._ Tails wanted to voice his opinion but instead Amy just continued on with her story.

"He was... really excited to see me. To say that least." Amy said, chuckling a sad laugh. "That should have been the dead giveaway."

"That dead giveaway that what?" Tails asked, though he was afraid he already knew the answer to his own question.

"That he was drunk." Amy said, as if it were obvious. The pink hedgehog shook her head. "I was stupid not to realize that as soon as I saw him..."

 _No..._ Tails thought, his stomach feeling the same sickness as before. _No no no..._ He **wanted** to deny it... to say it wasn't true... but... it just explained _so_ much. _But... Sonic doesn't drink... Why would he be at a bar?_

Amy sniffled once again and brought Tails' attention back to her. "I just... I wasn't trying to take _advantage_ of him or anything, you get it?" Amy said, as if trying to prove a point. "Because I didn't know... I didn't know." She repeated, tears now gathering in her eyes once again. "I just didn't realize that he wasn't sober... He just told me how much he liked me... how he _always_ liked me... and I was just so _happy..._ I didn't even stop to think of it at the time... I just sort of... Went with it..." The tears had begun on her face now. " _Oh god_... I'm such a terrible person."

"Amy-" Tails said, awkwardly attempting to comfort her before she began full out crying again, but it was too late.

"What kind of friend am I even?" Amy said, wiping tears. "I mean it was so damn obvious that I'd have to be an idiot not to see it. Who else besides me would take advantage of someone in a state like that? Who else?!" Amy was openly crying once again. "I'm so terrible..."

Tails bit his lip, unsure of what to do. He _wanted_ to be angry at Amy for taking advantage of his best friend- his brother- like that... but he couldn't. All he felt was pity for the pink hedgehog.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Tails told her, trying to comfort the girl. "You said it yourself, you didn't know, so how could it be your fault?"

"How could I not know? It was so obvious!" Amy shook her head and laughed a dead, empty laugh. "Sonic, like me... as if."

"Amy-" Tails began before he was interrupted once again... but this time not by the pink hedgehog.

Underneath the pair of Mobians, the ground rumbled as a loud explosion sounded off in the distance.

 _"What the-?"_

Tails quickly swung his head to the nearest window to view the outdoors. The window made a perfect viewing point for the red fire brightly burning far away from Amy's house, the site of the explosion.

Tails quickly ran through all the possibilities of the cause of the disturbance, with more than a majority of them involving a certain hedgehog and a evil genius.

Another explosion in the distance, and more flames erupting from it. Tails looked back at the pink hedgehog to see that she was also captivated by the flaming disaster.

"Oh boy..." Tails whispered under his breath, looking back out the window. "Sonic... what have you gotten yourself into now?"

* * *

Alright! So I'm pretty well aware that beginning to do Author's Notes at the end of the fifth chapter is a little weird, but whatever.

That being said, thank you to everyone for the positive support! I was not expecting to see nearly as much support as I did with this fic, but I am very glad I did! I'd like to extend additional thanks to everyone who's reviewed the story so far! I'm glad so many people are enjoying the story, and I apologize for the massive delay in this chapter, being nearly what, 2 months now? (I hope I made up for it with the fact that I made this chapter extra long.)

If you have anything to say, please review, it is very appreciated! Oh- and I hope everyone has a happy New Year!


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's** **Note** : Yes I know, it has been _way_ too long without an update to this story, and to be honest, this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer than it is now. It only got cut in half because if I had kept it the original length I was planning, it would be almost another month until it would be complete, so yeah, way too long.

Anyway's, I've just been really busy, so it took a while to write this one, blah blah blah, here's the chapter. Hope you enjoy! Also, thanks to anyone who's written a review so far, it means a lot!

* * *

"Oh boy..." Tails whispered under his breath, looking back out the window. "Sonic... what have you gotten yourself into now?"

In the distance, the brilliant flames of the disaster burned through the forest. The vibrant red flares were a stark contrast with the rest of the dark nighttime forest, making the fire quite easy to spot as it continued to burn and grow. Both Amy and Tails found it impossible to look away from the dancing flames visible in the distance.

What could possibly have occurred to start such a fire?

 _ **15 minutes earlier...**_

The blue hedgehog's feet kept moving as he ran onward to Angel Island. Each burst of speed excited him more and more, every little bit of speed pumping more and more adrenaline into him as he ran. Each step was on the ground for less than a millisecond before kicking off and launching itself once more. Sonic could feel the wind hitting his face, could hear the whistling of the air as he whizzed past the forest trees. If it couldn't already be assumed, the smile on the blue hedgehog's face a dead giveaway of just how the hedgehog felt.

 _This... this is what I live for._ Sonic thought to himself as he looked around, the objects around him too much of a blurred mess to make much out of it. The blue hedgehog had no trouble admitting that this was where he was most happy. _Running along, not a care in the world. Just... being free. Living in the moment. Doing whatever I want, when I want._

And right now Sonic wanted to get in a brawl with a certain red echidna. Sonic doubled his pace towards Angel Island, the land around him becoming even more of a blur. At this point he had to pay slight attention to make sure he didn't run head first into a tree, but he was still far from his top speed.

Before Sonic could think about how Knuckles probably wouldn't be too happy seeing Sonic in the middle of the night, when every other sane Mobian was asleep, a loud noise caught his attention as it echoed through the previously near silent wood.

It was a noise Sonic had heard so many times before... yet now it seemed... different, somehow. The blue hedgehog's legs skidded to a halt at the sound, his ears perking up to catch it.

 _Is that.. gunfire?_ He almost didn't recognize it at first, the sounds of bullets being shot seeming distinctively different when they weren't directed at him. Forgetting that he was on his way to Angel Island, the blue blur burst off in the direction of the fighting. Without even having to think about, his natural instinct to be the hero he always was (or to just get involved in more trouble) took over and guided his feet to the right path.

 _Looks like Eggman and his robots have returned._ The supersonic blur thought as he weaved through the thick forest. He was running much faster now, the threat of danger pushing him forward.

 _Who are the machines even attacking? And why?_ Questions flashed in Sonic's mind, all of which went ignored by the blue hedgehog as he ran towards the danger.

It seemed he was going to get the excitement he wanted after all.

It was true he had said that he would be more happy running on his own than getting caught up in more heroics, but someone had to stop the crazed doctor and his machines. Might as well be him.

Besides, being rewarded for his actions with praise and glory wasn't _too_ bad. And after all, he was a hero, and saving people and stopping villains was just what heroes did.

* * *

Of all the possible ways to be woken up from a deep sleep, Shadow had to agree that being attacked by a group of robots shouting _"Eliminate!"_ was not at the top of his list.

Only a few moments prior, the Ultimate Lifeform had been fast asleep. His nice rest only just had been ruined by an "ambush" from Dr. Robotnik's robots- the robots who had not so quietly emerged from the forest while shouting their intent to kill the ebony hedgehog. The loud sounds of their entrance had woken the black hedgehog up right before the robots began to fire at him.

Now he stood face to face with a small brigade of Eggman's robots. Thankfully, the hedgehog lacked any bullet wounds or anything of the sort, but the trees behind him were a different story, absolutely riddled with machine gun fire.

Luckily, or rather, _predictably_ , Shadow had been able to completely dodge the onslaught. His success only partially due to the fact that he had always been a light sleeper, a _nd that Eggman was absolutely **awful** at programming his robots to aim correctly._

In front of the ebony hedgehog stood the small team of robots. A scout team, it seemed, as the doctor himself was not present alongside his creations. That was probably best for the human, as if he _was_ here, Shadow would very much want to repay him for the small kindness of disturbing him.

Without taking his eye off the machines, Shadow's hand wrapped around the hidden chaos emerald in his quills. He was tempted to chaos spear the robots out of existence and get back to his sleep, but he decided against it. He never liked to depend too much on his use of chaos energy, rather, he preferred to save it for when it was absolutely necessary than using it on such trivial tasks as dispatching a measly three robots.

Shadow released his grip from the stone and sprung into action. One kick, a spin dash, and a punch or two later, the only thing left of the robots was scrap metal.

* * *

The blue hedgehog arrived just in time to watch the machines get mercilessly pummeled. Apparently he wasn't needed to be too much of a hero right now.

The hero slowed his pace to a halt as from a short distance he saw the robots get dispatched by expertly timed attacks all delivered by his rival, a certain black and red hedgehog.

 _Faker? Here?_ Sonic's brain was immediately curious, asking questions at a pace that just about matched the blue hedgehog's running speed. _In the middle of the night?_ Sonic looked around the clearing. Shadow seemed to be the only one out here. _Why? For what possible reason could he be here? What could he be doing?_

His attention shifted to the robots, or at least, what was left of them. The machines that Faker had already destroyed seemed to be pretty basic stuff for Eggman. _Speaking of the doctor..._ Sonic wondered why a certain evil doctor who did not seem to be present.

 _Where is he?_ Sonic questioned to himself. _I haven't seen the doctor or his robots for almost a month- and now, as soon as Shadow shows up, so do they. Doesn't that seem the slightest bit odd?_

If Faker saw him, he made no mention of Sonic's presence. Instead, Shadow straightened himself out, pulling out of his combat stance, seeing as there were no more robots left to deal with. Sonic quickly pushed away his suspicions before taking a few steps closer, deciding to let his presence known to the ebony hedgehog, unaware (and not caring) how his rival might react to his unannounced presence in the dead of the night.

* * *

"Hmph." Shadow wasn't impressed by the lack of challenge that the machines provided. Eggman's creations had always been weak and pitiful, and these latest robots had been no exception.

Shadow stopped and looked himself over, now out of the immediate danger. He unconsciously ran his gloved hand over a patch of out of place quills that he had slept on.

 _Might as well head back to the house now._ Shadow thought. _I hadn't really been expecting to fall asleep out here._ Shadow turned to look at the tree he had been sleeping under. Piled underneath the tree were the colorful autumn leaves which had ended up doubling as more of a bed for the black hedgehog. Shadow was about to tear his gaze away from the spot and head back home, when a voice interrupted him.

"Little disappointed there, Faker?" The ebony hedgehog scowled as soon as he heard the voice of a certain blue rival of his. "Too easy for you?"

Shadow turned to the source of the noise and saw the Faker standing alone beneath a tree not too far from Shadow himself, with his usual all-too-cocky grin. The blue hero stood alone in the middle of the forest. just like Shadow.

The black hedgehog could feel his mood sour just looking at the blue hedgehog.

"Faker... What do you want?" Shadow's growled at the _hero._ After all these years, the cobalt rival seemed to have struck a permanent nerve in the black hedgehog's mind. The blue hedgehog was irresponsible and childish- two qualities that were more fitting for a immature fool rather than a national hero. It also probably didn't help that almost every interaction he shared with the arrogant hero had left Shadow frustrated and upset.

"Oh nothing much..." The blue hero said, strolling casually over to the pile of robot scrap. "Just passing through when I heard some of Eggman's robots, " Sonic kicked the pile of rubble. "Though it seems you may have heard them first."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Just passing through... in the middle of the night." He questioned the logic of the Faker's statement. If Sonic picked up the sarcasm behind the statement, he didn't show it.

"Yep." Sonic said, turning his head over his shoulder to smile at the ebony hedgehog behind him. "Gotta get my nightly run in."

"I would like nothing more than to think you were joking, but it's not too hard to believe that would be something you would actually do," Shadow said, crossing his arms and scowling. Sonic's smile remained on his face.

"Why are _you_ out here then?" The blue hero asked, believing it to be his turn to ask.

"That's none of your business," Shadow bitterly replied. Faker only rolled his eyes at Shadow's response, having expected an answer along those lines. Sonic turned back to face the metal piles on the ground.

Shadow bit his lip in anger. He was still the slightest bit annoyed at the hedgehog's seemingly meaningless presence. All he wanted to do was go home and not be bombarded by anymore questions from the Faker. "What do you want?"

"Well, Faker, I already told you that I just wanted to see what was up with Eggman's robots. But, since you keep asking..." The Faker turned his head over is shoulder to face the black hedgehog with an amused smirk on his face. "I don't suppose you're up for a race, are you?"

If it were even possible, Shadow's scowl deepened even more. He couldn't even bother to be surprised at the Faker's dumb ideas anymore. "Figures _that'_ _s_ what you'd want." He sighed, more of a sigh of disgust than anything else.

"Scared?" Faker asked, continuing to smirk. "I don't blame you."

"More like disappointed," Shadow turned away from the other hedgehog, crossing his arms. "I guess I thought you'd want something other than a childish race for once."

"Why Faker, what could possibly give you such an idea?" Sonic sarcastically commented, turning his whole body to face his rival now. "I thought that by now you would know better."

" _And I thought_ that by now you would've matured at least a slight bit," Shadow said, still facing away from the Faker. "So it seems like we were both wrong."

"Come on, just one more race. Even though we know _I'll_ be the winner, it'll still be fun," Shadow rolled his eyes and shook his head before beginning to walk away from the blue hedgehog.

Suddenly, after a quick flash of blue, the annoying cobalt hedgehog stood in front of Shadow, even though only milliseconds before he had been feet away from the ebony hedgehog. Shadow only stopped and glared at him, completely unfazed by the blue hero's antics.

"I won't take no for an answer," Sonic said, crossing his arms as he tapped his foot impatiently. "Race me."

"I know that you won't take no as an answer," Shadow began, shoving the Faker aside with minimal effort. "That's why I'm just going to ignore you."

"Aw..." Sonic pouted, "You're no fun."

"Guess not," Shadow said, continuing to walk away without a pause.

Just as Shadow was about to walk back into the surrounding trees in the dark forest, Sonic called out for one last time. "Last chance, Faker!"

Shadow only shook his head in response, not stopping for a moment. He just wanted to get home at this point. He had no idea what time it was, but he figured it was late enough.

Two steps back into the forest and a maniacal laugh stopped the black hedgehog in his tracks. All around him, a faint creaking of machines could be heard. All around him, hidden in the surrounding forest around the clearing, were more of Eggman's robots. Shadow slowly backed his way back into the clearing.

The laughter continued behind him, louder now, and Shadow looked over his shoulder, already well aware of who the cackling belonged to.

"You're not going anywhere, hedgehog!" Eggman's voice called out to the two hedgehogs as he sat on his Egg Mobile. "I've finally found you, and this time you're done for!"

Both hedgehogs' eyes were trained on the Doctor until the robots came from all around them, completely surrounding the clearing. There was _dozens_ of them, trapping off any escape that could possibly be made by either of the two rivals.

Shadow stopped once he was back into the center of the clearing next to the blue hedgehog, wanting to hear what Eggman wanted to say before pulverizing his robots. The evil mastermind continued to laugh, believing that this time, the spiky hedgehog stood absolutely no chance. He opened his mouth to address the hedgehog-

Only to hesitate at the sight of both Sonic _and_ Shadow.

"Oh," Eggman said awkwardly at the sight of both very capable hedgehogs at the same location at the same time and not trying to kill each other. "I... uh... kind of wasn't expecting both of you." The doctor scratched his head awkwardly, knowing that his plan would pretty much be out the window if he was forced to fight both hedgehogs.

For a moment, the doctor sat in complete silence, unsure of how to carry out his plan now.

"Don't worry, that won't be much of a problem," Shadow said, decidedly happy to have an excuse to ignore both of these fools. "I was just leaving anyway. Have fun trying to kill Sonic or whatever." Shadow began to walk away, steadily approaching the robots that had formed a circle around the two hedgehogs.

"Hey!" Sonic called out to Shadow. "You're just gonna leave me here?"

"You've taken down Eggman what, hundreds of time? I'm pretty sure you can manage by yourself for another one," Shadow stated without a moment of hesitation. "Besides you came here after Eggman's robots in the first place, right? Well there's the doctor himself. Have fun," Shadow kept walking, planning to head back to his home and go back to sleep. He passed between two enemies, both of which were still completely focused on Sonic, as if they didn't even see the ebony hedgehog.

"You know Shadow... that's funny," The lunatic doctor said, before smashing a few buttons on his control panel. Shadow paused a few feet behind the robots, hearing the clicking from the robots behind him. He turned around slowly and a quick glance behind him told them yes, the robots were all pointing their weapons at him "Because, actually, I was looking for _you_."

 _What?_ Confusion overtook Shadow for a second. He glance moved from the the combat ready robots back at the crazed scientist. _M_ _e? Why?_ Before Shadow had a chance to voice his question, the robots began to open fire on him.

Shadow had his lightning quick reflexes to thank for the expertly dodge of all the bullets at a point blank range. The black hedgehog was easily able to launch himself above the machines as they fired at him. The jump landed him back in the center clearing, a few feet away from the Faker.

"Look who came _crawling_ back," The blue hero said, undoubtedly smirking at the black hedgehog.

"Shut up." The ebony hedgehog quickly fired back as the robots faced their guns to the two hedgehogs.

"You ready?" The blue hedgehog asked, slightly more serious than before.

Shadow grunted in response, and only a second after, the two ran into battle.

More psychopathic laughter commenced on the doctor's behalf. "Unfortunately for you both, this time, neither of you will escape!"

* * *

Sonic was actually legitimately disappointed with Egghead. Those robots weren't even mildly difficult. He could've destroyed them with two hands _and a leg_ tied behind his back.

"That was just pathetic!" Sonic called out to the furious doctor. "Come on, you've gotta have something better up your sleeve."

"I agree," Shadow said, probably agreeing with Sonic for the first time in ever. Shadow took a moment to straighten out his shoulder quills. "That was just insulting."

"You want something stronger, huh?!" Eggman said, angrily slamming his hands on his computer console. "I'll make you _eat_ those words, hedgehog! Well how about you try a little of _this?!_ "

Just as Eggman smashed the buttons of his Egg Mobile, hundreds of robots of all sorts of different types slowly came out of the darkness around them, once again circling around the duo.

"This is better!" Sonic said cockily. "Still not enough to take me down, but it's a start. A good wave two if I don't say so myself."

"Wave two?!" Eggman screamed back at the arrogant hero. "You fool! You're going up against the entirety of the Egg Empire! I promised neither of the two of you will survive this- and I will deliver!" The robots closed in on the two hedgehogs, outnumbering them by a good deal. "Destroy them, my minions!"

* * *

Shadow was surprised to find himself actually enjoying his time spent blowing up dozens upon dozens of Eggman's army of robots. The natural chaos of battle still found a way to appeal to the Ultimate Lifeform, and letting lose explosion after explosion as he decimated the doctor's forces definitely provided that chaos.

Shadow without a doubt shared the hero's mindset that this was just a bit too easy. The robots felt like they weren't even trying to hit Shadow or Sonic, and if they did, they just failed to do so at all. Sure, it _was_ probably quite difficult to program murderous killer robots, but this last batch just felt a little... underdone. Like Eggman hadn't even tried to make them work.

Unlike the faker however, Shadow was beginning to think that this wasn't the only thing Eggman had in store. That indeed, this was just a warm-up round. Probably just something to tire them out. The doctor had something bigger in store, undoubtedly... and if he didn't... well then, that would make this quite a pathetic ploy to try and kill the Ultimate Lifeform.

As Shadow cleared out the surrounding robot forces with a quick flurry of attacks, he finally had a moment to pause and look around.

The robots' numbers had noticeably decreased, the ground now completely covered with the wreckage of the machines. On the other side of the small clearing, Shadow could spot Faker, happily spin dashing through robot after robot. The Doctor sat on his Egg Mobile... seemingly relaxed. Definitely not something he would be doing if this really was his last attempt to take them out.

 _Yeah, he has something else in store._ Shadow decided. The black hedgehog was forced to turn his attention back to the fight as more robots closed in on him. He easily dispatched them with a few kicks and punches. _But what?_

* * *

"Is that really it?" Sonic asked in disbelief as he fought through the handful of remaining robots. "This is lazy Egghead, even for you." Sonic said before shooting a cocky look at Eggman-

Only to realize the doctor was nowhere to be found.

Sonic spin dashed threw the last robot. The blue hedgehog looked at his rival, who was also looking for the doctor. "Typically Eggman. Always running when he's lost." The ebony hedgehog said nothing in response, his eyes only narrowing as he scanned the night time surroundings.

 _Where was he?_ Shadow asked himself. _Did he really not have anything else to throw at us?_ Shadow looked everywhere. but it was impossible to see much under the nighttime sky.

Shadow was just about to accept the fact that the Doctor really didn't have anything else planned... when the ground began to violently tremble.

"Huh?!" Sonic called out, his legs shaking as the earth rumbled below them. It felt as if they were right in the middle of an earthquake.

 _I knew it._ Shadow resisted the urge to say those words aloud, as he too focused on not losing his balance. _He did have something else planned._ Shadow looked back up at the Faker, opening his mouth to say something, but pausing just as he saw what was far off behind the Faker.

"Whoa," Sonic said after following his rival's gaze to Eggman as well as the rest of the doctor's plan. "Those are... new."

On a one way path toward Sonic and Shadow were three huge robots which obliterated everything in their way. Trees gave way easily to the massive machines as the robots approached the small clearing.

Sonic couldn't help but feel a bit surprised by the doctor's new creations. Not that Sonic wasn't used to the doctor building big machines- after all, Egghead had built a space station before, it was just that usually the doctor kept those things for his next attempt at world domination. He usually didn't build those things for his regular run-ins with the blue hedgehog. Not when Sonic as just going to destroy them.

Granted, the blue hedgehog would destroy them no matter what- but still, you get the point.

So, the sight of seeing three thirty-foot robots was a little shocking... Shocking, but a problem for Sonic.

Eggman himself sat atop one of the robots, his Egg Mobile attached to the machine and shielded by a strong glass. The robot Eggman was perched on was different from the others, slightly taller and made differently, as if it was a completely different type of robot. Even the design was different, instead of sharing the same dull black as the other two bots, the larger one had a shining red and silver color with a ebony stripe stretching down the center.

Every step the robots took loudly shook the forest floor, and just above the giant crashing of the robots' movement, the two hedgehogs could hear the evil doctor's laughs.

"I'm far from done!" He shouted down at the hedgehogs as the enormous robots stopped right beside the clearing. "Prepare for my wrath!"

"Give it up Eggman!" Sonic smiled, still as sure of himself as ever. The two hedgehogs remained in a combat ready position, ready for an attack at any moment. "You could build hundreds of these things, it wouldn't matter. I can take whatever you throw at me!"

Shadow had to admit one thing about the blue hedgehog. He had confidence in himself. The Faker truly believed that no matter what situation may arise, no matter what enemy force he could encounter, he could best it.

Shadow just hoped that confidence wasn't misplaced right now.

The doctor only laughed in response, as if he had been expecting Sonic to say just that. The evil scientist seemed just as sure of himself as the blue hedgehog, which was not something Shadow particularly liked about this situation. _What could be so special about these robots?_

"Prepare for your doom, hedgehogs!" Eggman shouted. One of the smaller robots aimed at the two hedgehogs.

A moment later, burning flames erupted from the end of the gun.


End file.
